Speaker Series: POLITICS OF SEDUCTION: Desire and the radicalized body
Cabaret gives space to cultivate the audacity to highlight bodies as visible, valuable, and worth considering. We begin by imagining our bodies as important and worthy of being centre stage. Addressing how race is sexualized in ways that implicate class, respectability politics and policing.
ASL interpretation provided.
Featuring;
Ravyn Wngz
Rania El Mugammar
Ivory
Cat Zaddy
Dolly Berlin
Moderated by Dainty Smith
Date and Time: Wed Feb 10, 6-8pm
* Registration is required. Sign up via Eventbrite.
Ravyn Wngz “The Black Widow of Burlesque” is a Tanzanian, Bermudian, Mohawk, 2Spirit, Queer and Transcendent storyteller. She is an Abolitionist, Artivist and Dance artist. Her work is rooted in Black liberation and Indigenous Resurgence.
website: patreon.com/ravynwngz
Instagram: @ravynwngz
Rania El Mugammar is a Sudanese artist, anti-oppression consultant, and liberation educator based in Toronto. Rania’s artistic and community work is deeply rooted in Black Liberation,Rania is a published writer, award winning organizer, speaker, arts educator, and multidisciplinary performer.
website: www.raniawrites.com
Instagram: @rania.writes
Ivory is a former gymnast, and boasts a storied history of dance and movement training. A Graduate of Toronto’s prestigious Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, Ivory studied Tap, Jazz and Ballet. An avid yogi, Ivory’s love for movement carries her through all performing disciplines. A brief foray into Burlesque in 2005-2006 petered out when Ivory’s burlesque troupe disbanded – but 2016 has seen her triumphant return to the Burlesque Stage. Ivory combines both classic and contemporary burlesque into her repertoire, with her notoriously sultry “sing and strip” numbers being her signature.
Website: www.pureivory.ca
Twitter/Instagram: @pureivorydotca
Electrifying, sexy and powerful, Cat “ButtaKream” Zaddy knows how to command a stage. This Toronto born and raised performer has starred in shows across the city for pole, burlesque and heels dance and was accepted to perform at renowned burlesque festivals in Spain and England in 2020. Cat is known for her infectious energy that captivates audiences through her raw sensuality and signature flirtatious style. She’ll have you on your feet and leave you wanting more, and by the end of it all she’ll have you calling her Zaddy.
Instagram: @cat.zaddy
Dolly Berlin is Toronto’s own “High Femme, Low Brow,” Indigiqueer bump n grind beauty. Having delighted audiences for over a decade with her blend of raw sensuality, humour, and retro styled charm, Dolly is a familiar figure in the local cabaret circuit. She favours the creation of erotic themed performance for intimate venues, but has also appeared at large scale events such as Toronto Pride, Fierce: Queer Performing Arts Festival, and the New York Burlesque Festival, among others.
Pre-pandemic, her focus had been curating the popular weekly revue “Sinful Sundays at Cherry Cola’s.”
website: www.dollyberlin.com
Instagram: @dollyberlin
PUSH.PULL is a six-month online series of interdisciplinary events examining emergent and intersectional developments in performance art and QT BIPOC cabaret. Curated by storyteller, producer and stage performer Dainty Smith and multidisciplinary artist Golboo Amani. PUSH.PULL is partnering with Aluna Theatre to present:
* a three-part speaker series inviting performers and cultural creatives to engage in conversations at the intersections of visual culture, sex work, performance and politics by recognizing cabaret as a site of cultural production and community engagement.
* a five- part workshop series led by professionals in the field, aimed at engaging audience participants and community members in immersive skill-sharing experiences deepening appreciation, interest and critical engagement across fields.